Plant cell wall polysaccharides are partially cross-linked via phenolic compounds. As shown in the past, the most important phenolic compounds to cross-link plant cell-wall polysaccharides are ester-linked ferulic acid dimers, but p-coumarate dimers were also shown to be potential cross-linking compounds. Recently, ferulic acid dimers were identified and quantified in a range of cereal grains. ...

Plant cell walls consist predominantly of polysaccharides and lignin. There has been a surge of research activity in plant cell wall biology in recent years, in two key areas. Firstly, in the area of human health it is now recognized that cell wall polysaccharides are key components of dietary fiber, which carries significant health benefits. Secondly, plant cell walls are major constituents of...

Plant cell walls consist largely of cellulose, non-cellulosic polysaccharides and lignin. Concerted attempts are underway to convert wall polysaccharides from crop plant residues into renewable transport fuels and other valuable products, and to exploit the dietary benefits of cereal grain wall polysaccharides in human health. Attempts to improve plant performance for these applications have in...

Polysaccharides account for more than 90% of the content of fungal cell walls, but the mechanism underlying the formation of the architecture of the cell walls, which consist of microfibrils embedded in an amorphous wall matrix, remains unknown. We used electron microscopy to investigate ten different fungal cell-wall polysaccharides to determine whether they could self-assemble into the fibril...

The genome sequence of the moss Physcomitrella patens has stimulated new research examining the cell wall polysaccharides of mosses and the glycosyl transferases that synthesize them as a means to understand fundamental processes of cell wall biosynthesis and plant cell wall evolution. The cell walls of mosses and vascular plants are composed of the same classes of polysaccharides, but with dif...

The rumen bacterial strains Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens Hl7c, Fibrobacter succinogenes S8S, Lachnospira multiparus 4°, Ruminococcus albus 7 and R. flavefaciens FD-l were compared individually and as a five-species mixture with a rumen inoculum for their ability to degrade lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) stem cell wall polysaccharides. Two maturity stages oflucerne (bud and full flower) were utilized...

Aspergillus spp. are widely spread plant pathogens. In several kinds of fruit, especially in apple and peach, aspergillus rot is one of the postharvest desease in fruit, but the infection mechanism is not known. The degradation of cell walls by pathogens is significant in primary infection and afterinfection, and plays an important role in the advancement of mycelium into the host plant and the...